The book ends with Earhart’s successful transatlantic flight, and does not cover her fatal attempt to fly around the world This allows the book to end on a positive note for young readers. However, the appendix includes a complete biography and timeline of her life.

My 7-year-old son used this book as the basis of a biography project for his 2nd grade class. The book led us to watch a short video online about efforts to search for the truth about Earhart’s disappearance.

I have included this book on my girls list.

Watch Out for Clever Women, by Joe Hayes

Five traditional Hispanic tales featuring clever women, including “The Day it Snowed Tortillas,” about a woman who prevents robbers from claiming three gold bags her husband found, and “In the Days of King Adobe,” in which an old woman tricks two rogues who try to steal her ham. English and Spanish on the same page.

Pajaro Verde, by Joe Hayes

A magical tale based on New Mexican folklore. Mirabel falls in love with a green bird (Pajaro Verde) and marries him despite her sisters’ and mother’s jeering. He is of course a prince in disguise, and when he is injured, she must rescue him. Another twist in the story is that Mirabel’s sisters have various numbers of eyes, from nine to one. The illustrations are gorgeous. English and Spanish text.

Mighty Mountain and the Three Strong Women, by Irene Hedlund

A Japanese tale about a wrestler who, on his way to the capital to compete in the Emperor’s wrestling match, encounters three women stronger than he! They help him train for the competition, he wins, and then he returns to marry one of the women. A funny story with beautiful color illustrations.

Shower of Gold: Girls and Women in the Stories of India, by Uma Krishnaswami

Eighteen folk tales from India, including the story of Chitrangada, who chooses to rule her kingdom rather than remain the wife of a handsome prince; and Supriya, who teaches adults  about compassion. Told in a simple, engaging style.

Tatterhood and Other Tales, by Ethel Johnston Phelps

Twenty-six fun, absorbing tales featuring strong, brave and/or clever girls and women, including stories from from Norway, southern Africa, England, Sudan, Scotland, Native Americans, Japan, India, Ivory Coast, Ireland, China, Wales, and Ecuador.  A rich treasury for family reading. The same author has also written Maid of the North, featuring more tales of strong and clever women from around the world.

Mother Scorpion Country, by Rohmer and Wilson

In this tale from the Miskito Indians of Nicaragua, Naklili loves his wife Kati so much that when she dies, he follows her to Mother Scorpion Country, the land of the dead. Kati protects both of them from dangers along the way, and when Naklili realizes he doesn’t belong with Mother Scorpion, Kati sends him back to the living. Beautiful color pictures add to this memorable, slightly spooky story. English and Spanish text.

Clever Rachel, by Debby Waldman and Cindy Revell

In this retelling of a Jewish folk-tale, Clever Rachel is a girl who loves riddles. A smart boy, Jacob, hears about her and decides to challenge her. He is astonished when she answers his best riddles in no time flat. But when a desperate woman visits Rachel needing answers to some riddles, Rachel and Jacob realize they must work together to help solve the riddles.

The Woman Who Outshone the Sun, by Zubizaretta, Rohmer, and Schecter

Lucia Zenteno arrives in a village and the animals and plants immediately love her. But the people are suspicious and drive her away. When she leaves, the village’s river goes with her. Humbled, the people ask her forgiveness. She returns the river and reminds the villagers to treat even strangers with kindness. This story is part of the oral tradition of the Zapotec Indians of Mexico. Color pictures, English and Spanish text.

In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage, by Alan Schroeder

Augusta Savage, a poor African-American girl living in Florida in the 1890s, loved to make figures from the clay she dug up around her house. Her father, a preacher, discouraged this hobby, believing the figures to be profane and sinful. At the age of 27, she won a sculpture contest at the county fair, and used the prize money to move to New York, where she gained entry to the Cooper Union School of Art. She became a noted sculptor and art teacher. Rich paintings by JaiMe Bereal accompany this absorbing biography. This picture book is suitable for kids ages 6 and up.

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom, by Tim Tingle

This picture book tells the story of a Native American girl, Martha Tom, who helps a family of slaves escape into her tribe’s Choctaw territory. Written by a Choctaw storyteller and beautifully illustrated by a Cherokee artist, this is a haunting, magical tale.

Elizabeth’s Song, by Michael Wenberg

This is the true story of the childhood of Elizabeth Cotten, who composed the folk song classic “Freight Train” at age 11. Her unique, self-taught way of playing the guitar (upside down and left-handed) gave rise to the phrase “cotton-picking.” Wonderful illustrations and a memorable story.

Book of Black Heroes, Vol. II: Great Women in the Struggle, by Igus, Ellis, Patrick and Wesley

Black women throughout history are profiled in this easy-to-read compilation featuring famous and not-so-famous women
freedom fighters, educators, artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, policy
makers and scientists. Suitable for ages 10 and up.

Susie King Taylor: Destined to be Free, by Denise Jordan

 Susie King Taylor was born a slave and was just 14 when the Civil War started. Because she had been secretly taught to read, she became a teacher to Black children and adults during the war. She also worked as a nurse. Much later, she was the first Black Civil War nurse to write her own story. This short chapter book is suitable for ages 7 and up.

Thirteen women passed the tests, including Jerrie Cobb, a record-breaking pilot and the first woman to go through the grueling tests. Her results were even stronger than the men who were eventually selected to be astronauts. However, these women were not permitted to be astronauts.

President Lyndon Johnson told Jerrie Cobb in 1962: “If we let you or other women into the space program, we’d have to let blacks in. We’d have to let Mexican Americans in, and Chinese Americans. We’d have to let every minority in, and we just can’t do it.” So in other words, although these women had what it took to be astronauts, they were kept out in order to maintain the status quo of privilege for white males.

This is an eye-opening, gripping 130-page book about a group of women who had already broken gender barriers in flight, and who showed they were capable of going into space — but were denied that dream. Interwoven with the women’s stories is the social and political history of the era: how women were portrayed in the media; attitudes towards women pilots; and even the story of one jealous woman pilot who testified before Congress against women in space.

In the course of her research, author Tanya Lee Stone developed personal relationships with the women she was writing about. In fact, she became so involved with this project that she took flying lessons herself. Stone’s passion for her subject really comes through in this book.

Although the “Mercury 13″ women did not have a chance to go into space, their stories inspired women who did — including Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space (from Russia), and Eileen Collins, the first American woman to command a space shuttle.

This is a fantastic book to get girls (and boys) interested in science and flight. You can buy this book from my girls list.

This 360-page book is filled with photos, illustrations, and snippets of  information about the everyday lives of women, including African-American women, Native American women, and other ethnic minorities.

This history book comes alive with the stories of individual women: “In 1780 a slave woman named Mumbet heard the Declaration of Independence read in the public square of Sheffield, Massachusetts. . . .   The day after the reading in the square, she and another slave stepped into the law office of Theodore Sedgwick, one of her master’s friends. She asked him if all were born equal, did that not mean her as well. Sedgwick agreed to represent her case. Surprisingly, the ensuing lawsuit was found in favor of the two slaves. Mumbet, now a free woman, chose to be called Elizabeth Freeman.”

I highly recommend Women Making America for girls and boys ages 12 and up. You can buy this book from my girls list.

At the age of five, Yeung is rewarded with a special dessert called “dan lai” for being able to recite Chinese poetry from memory. The reward awakens in her a desire to become educated and have enough money to buy more dan lai.

Her mother sends her to a private school, despite the fact that the family is poor. At the age of eight, Yeung writes letters for her illiterate grandmother, and at the age of 10, she does piecework for factories in order to earn money to buy books. At 12, she sells a story to a local newspaper, and this is the beginning of her writing career.

The poems are simple, story-like, and heartfelt. Some are humorous. Here is a poem about Yeung’s favorite teacher.

Secret Wish

I remember Mr. Hon

once said that

a person should see more things

and open his eyes

if he wants to write a good story.

Ma cannot afford to send me off

to see things.

So I decide that

when I grow up,

I will not marry a doctor,

or a lawyer,

or a teacher,

or a businessman.

I will marry a bus driver,

who can drive me everywhere

to see the world

and it will be

free.

And he must look like

Mr. Hon.

You can buy this book from my girls list.

Included are many books like Asha’s Mums, featuring gay parents. Also included are books in which children deal with relatives or close friends who are infected with AIDS; several books about non-traditional families in general; books in which gay parents adopt a child; and a few books about boys who are teased for being a “sissy.”

The list is so long that it seems somewhat overwhelming at first, but if you scroll down and look on the right side, you will see that the books are categorized, so if you’re looking for books about, for example, lesbian mothers and their sons, you can click on that link and up pops three relevant titles.

The site also has links to other gay-themed book lists.

The list is compiled by Patricia Sarles of the Jerome Parker Campus Library in Staten Island, New York.

The next day, Luke suggests playing war again, and wishes he could be in a real war. Sameer reveals that, in his home country, he lived in the middle of a war, during which a bomb destroyed his house and killed his parents and brother. The friends are shocked at Sameer’s story of the tragedy of war. Luke decides that they ought to play basketball instead.

This picture book reveals the horrors of war in a gentle, sympathetic way. It would be a good book to get elementary-school kids talking about issues of war and peace.

You can buy this book from my boys list.

Rose O’Neill was a commercial illustrator and comic artist in the early 1900s, at a time when most commercial illustrators were men.

This children’s biography of Rose O’Neill concentrates on her childhood. Her father was a bookseller who had difficulty supporting his growing family, so Rose and her siblings moved often and lived in small, cramped homes in Nebraska and Missouri. However, the family was happy together. Rose never had formal art lessons: she taught herself to draw by copying illustrations from the stacks of books always around the house. 

When she was 13, one of her drawings won a prize from an Omaha newspaper. At the age of 19, she went to New York City to begin her career as a freelance illustrator for magazines and books. In 1909, when she was 35, she created the first kewpie character for Ladies Home Journal. This character proved so popular that Rose wrote and illustrated weekly kewpie stories and cartoons, and oversaw the manufacture of a kewpie doll.

Rose’s wealth allowed her to support her parents and siblings. Rose worked for the right of women to vote, and she mentored young artists.

This 68-page biography is in an oversized 10″ x 12″ format. It is lavishly illustrated with over 100 drawings and photographs. The author, Linda Brewster, skillfully pairs Rose’s adult drawings with the childhood events that may have inspired them. The book is based on Rose’s unpublished memoirs, so the writing comes alive with dialogue and Rose’s memories.

You can buy this book from my girls list.

I would like to invite my visitors to contribute or subscribe to New Moon Girls magazine and help keep its doors open.

Unlike most magazines for girls, this one has no diet advice, no fashion features, and no advertising.  It’s a  full-color, fun magazine edited by a group of girls in Duluth, Minnesota, with the help of an adult staff. The most recent issue features: an article about an Iraqi girl who, at the age of 17, started that country’s first National Youth Orchestra; world records set by women; hidden pictures; an interview with author Madeleine L’Engle; a science project about cloning; an advice column with questions and answers from girls; and opinions, art, and fiction by girls.

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